Pridemore gears up

State Sen. Craig Pridemore has been otherwise occupied over the past three months while his main Democratic opponent in the 3rd District congressional race, Denny Heck of Olympia, has been raking in the campaign dough.

Heck announced April 1 that he now has $530,000 in his campaign coffers, counting the $150,000 in seed money he gave his own campaign late last year.

While the Legislature slogs on, the Pridemore fund-raising machine has been working to pick up steam. The Vancouver Democrat wasn’t saying last week how much he has in the bank. He doesn’t have to report that information to the Federal Election Commission until April 15.

But it’s clear Pridemore has some serious catching up to do. He recently held Pints for Pridemore get-acquainted events at pubs in Vancouver and Seattle, billing himself as “the ONLY Democrat who will always fight for us” and vowing to stand up to corporate lobbyists. He also sent out an e-mail pitch asking for contributions to help him raise $7.200 in the last 72 hours of March.

“You don’t have to be a big donor to make a difference,” he said. “Whether you can give $5, $500 or anywhere in between, you will be making your voice heard.”